Should automotive filter manufacturer incorporate new product line?

Abstract

This project consists of bringing an enhanced Champion Laboratories, Inc. product line to market to compete against a product currently produced by Fram Corporation, one of Champion's competitors. Fram's oil filters have a textured dome, which enhances the grip of the filter when manually spinning the filter onto the oil plug adapter. This project entails the details of adding the textured grip to an existing Champion Laboratories product. The project was undertaken in two phases; product design phase and the manufacturing & process engineering phase. The primary focus in the product design phase was the selection of the oil filter construction, type of textured powder coat paint, and the area of application. The manufacturing and process engineering phase focused on the masking (or covering) of the filter in preparation for the application of both regular and textured powder coat paint.